Summary:

• On his way to Haran, Jacob decided to lay down for the night near Luz. As he was sleeping, he had a vision of a ladder, or stairway, between heaven and earth.
• God's Angels were on it, ascending and descending. At the top, he saw God. God repeated the promise of support he had made to Abraham and Isaac. He told Jacob his offspring would be many, blessing all the families of the earth.
• God then said "Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to his land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:15)
• When Jacob awoke, he believed that God was present in that place. He took the stone that he was using to rest his head, poured oil on it and consecrated it to God. Then he made a vow saying "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you." (Genesis 28:20-22)
• Jacob called it Bethel, meaning "house of God."

Exegetical Insights

The word “place” is used here, because the text emphasizes that Jacob has no idea the place he has come upon is sacred; only when he wakes up does he realize it is sacred. The place was Bethel, a sacred site as early as the time of Abraham. He was fleeing Beersheba, on his way to Harran when he decided to stay the night in what he would later call Bethel.

He had a dream of a stairway that led to Heaven and at the top of that stairway he saw God. God told him what God had told Isaac and Abraham, that he would be the father of many nations. in Hebrew, sullam, inaccurately translated as “ladder.” The imagery in Jacob’s dream may be derived from the Babylonian ziggurat or temple tower, “with its top in the sky", and with brick steps leading up to a small temple at the top.

In Hebrew, masseba, a stone which might vary in shape and size, set upright and usually intended for some religious purpose. The custom of erecting such sacred pillars in Palestine went back to its pre-Israelite period; but since their polytheistic associations were often retained, later Israelite religion forbade their erection and ordered the destruction of those that were associated with other religions.

What can this story teach sophomores today?

This story can be interpreted as a connection between heaven and earth. With God taking the initiative to reach out to man. You can also contrast this story to that of the Tower of Babel, which was man reaching toward Heaven. While this story is more about God reaching towards man. The text demonstrates that God's transendence is not compromised by closeness. Are you trying to reach heaven on a "stairway" of your own good works and behavior, or are you taking the "stairway" of God's plan of salvation, his son Jesus Christ?

God tells Jacob that he is the chosen one to carry on the promise, why do you think he told Jacob in the way of a dream?